My neighbor had a Beagle named Alvin, and Alvin loved to snack on earthworms.
Alvin’s owner and I were having a conversation outside when I heard, “Scrotch-Scrotch-Scrotch.” I looked down to see Alvin scraping his teeth on the sidewalk trying to dislodge a dried-up earthworm – not good for his dental health. It’s amazing what self-destructive things people and other animals will do in order to engage their passions. And passions embrace many kinds of appetites, including the desire to feel superior by hating another.
I understand the feeling. I’ve been there myself. I’m repeatedly tempted to go back and, to my shame, I get a reminder that I’m out of line when I point a finger.
Can we hope that at some point the human spirit will evolve toward a more corroborative mindset? The model has actually been with us for a long, long time.
In order to practice hatred, one must first divide. There must be the “them and us.” The division can be anywhere where there is a difference: political, cultural, racial, between species, between genders, and even between humans and creation itself. But there is a thread in the fabric of most religions that points toward a healthier reality.
A healthy spirituality sees God as loving parent, people as sisters and brothers coming from a common ancestor, humans as embedded and dependent on the natural world; all this is there if we just look, and read, and hear; if we embrace words of grace and commonality, actions of love. The alternative is destructive passions based on ego and a can of worms for a life. The choice should be obvious.
- Neal Z.
